In the meantime, she planned on using today to take some recreational photos. Brody had informed her today was his day off, and he would be picking Tyler up from school. The skies were clear and the wind wasn’t howling—perfect conditions for snapping pictures.

Elisa gathered her photography bag and tossed in all her essentials. Next, she packed a light snack and a bottle of water.

Ten minutes later, with her bag slung over her shoulder and shoes on her feet, Elisa opened the front door. She stopped cold when her eyes landed on Brody strolling up the walkway. Suddenly her peaceful day turned very uncertain. She made a futile attempt to moisten her dry lips. It didn’t work.

Why did she have to react to him like this? Being near him always made her feel out of control. And every time she was around him, she questioned her decision to leave, as though she were walking away from something very important.

“Did I catch you on your way out?” he asked in that deliciously deep timbre of his.

Flashes of the other night, of his mouth caressing hers, wreaked havoc with her once-tranquil mind.

She cleared her throat, so she could have a prayer of sounding like a normal human being. “I was just heading out to take some pictures.” And thinking about you.

He came to a stop just a breath in front of her, so close that his intoxicating Old Spice aroma threatened to make her pass out.

“Want to come?” she blurted out.

Yeah, invite him along. That way you won’t be able to concentrate on anything you’re doing. Superb idea.

Little lines appeared at the corners of his eyes when he smiled. “If you don’t think I’ll be a distraction.”

Oh, I know you will. But I’m willing to make a compromise.

“I’ve managed to take pictures with you there before.”

“We weren’t alone before,” he stated simply.

All the more reason for you not to have him along! Are you insane?

For years, Elisa had kept herself sheltered from men. After being burned numerous times in the past, she’d learned to proceed with caution before jumping into a relationship. Perhaps she’d been too cautious? Had she been her own worst enemy by closing herself off?

She shrugged to feign indifference. “I have nothing to be afraid of.”

His mouth twitched in a small smile. “Good.”

“Let’s go then.” She led him to her car, where they both climbed in and fastened their seat belts.

“Where were you planning on going?” Brody asked once Elisa pulled out of her driveway.

“I don’t know. But I’ll know when we get there.”

“What are you going to take pictures of?” he asked her.

She glanced at him and smiled. “I don’t know that either.”

His low chuckle sent goose bumps along her flesh.

“Do you always do this?” he asked. “Just go without any destination in mind?”

Elisa drove through the town, toward the highway. “Actually, no. But sometimes I like to get back to the reason why I started taking pictures in the first place.”

“And why is that?”

The town limits disappeared behind them as she headed east on Highway 80. “Just for the love of taking pictures.” She glanced at him, and a jolt of sexual awareness shot through her when her eyes connected with his.

She drove them a short distance before heading north toward the Seminoe Reservoir. Routt National Forest was an absolute splendor of Mother Nature. Elisa had seen a fraction of the area several years ago and had never made it back. Unfortunately, the forest was too far south for just a quick picture-taking trip. She’d have to save that for a time when she could make a day trip out of it before leaving Wyoming. Not when she had the most irresistible man in the world accompanying her.

The red cliffs that dominated much of southern Wyoming soared around them with their entire natural splendor. Elisa had always thought there was something majestic about the steep cliffs that gave way to deep gorges, some of which had been carved out by snaking rivers. She could snap photos up here all day.

“I assume now you know where you’re going?” Brody asked after making small chitchat with her for most of the ride.

“We’re going to the southern part of Seminole State Park. There’s some really beautiful scenery up there.”

It was a lengthy drive, about two hours, but they finally entered the park and Elisa found a suitable place to search for something interesting. She parked the car, and she and Brody stepped out. With her bag slung over one shoulder, Elisa headed in no particular direction. Brody’s long-legged stride easily kept up with her. The man had a way of walking like he owned the ground beneath him. His confident, loose-limbed swagger was just one of many things that had her constantly going weak for him. And he probably knew it too.

“I think this is a good spot,” Elisa announced after they had walked for several minutes. They stood on a low plateau that overlooked a winding river below. Beyond that, the view was clear for miles, nothing but nature’s architecture.

“No offense, but this doesn’t look particularly exciting. There’s nothing here,” Brody said.

Elisa tossed him a glance while she retrieved her camera from her bag. “That’s the point. Don’t you ever just go somewhere where there’s nothing around?”

“Yeah, my house,” he said with a snort.

His joking exterior didn’t fool Elisa. She knew better. That empty house was like a prison for him. Did he miss being part of a family? Did he regret getting divorced? Was the whole thing his idea or hers? There was a whole other side of Brody McDermott he kept under a tight lock, just like Lacy had told her. She’d attempted to gain access to him before, with questions of Tyler. Each time she was met with resistance.

“Before I forget, I want to give this to you.” He extended a white business card, clasped between his index and middle finger.

Elisa glanced at it but didn’t take it. “What’s that for?”

“My father’s lawyer. I’m not sure, but he might be able to help you. At the very least, he could give you some advice.”

His blunt fingertips brushed ever so lightly over her knuckles when she took the card from him. A ghost of a smile played along his lips. The man had done that on purpose.

“Thanks.” She tucked the card in her back pocket. His intense stare had her heart doing all sorts of tricks in her chest. The deep breath she inhaled didn’t calm her racing pulse down.

Instead of taking the moment further, which was probably a good thing, Brody took a step back and said, “You seem like you know your way around here.”

Even though the brief connection had been broken, his stomach still turned in knots. She wrapped her clammy hands tighter around her camera. If she wasn’t careful, she’d break the thing. “My parents used to bring us up here all the time.”

“Us?” he repeated.

Elisa ran her fingers over the delicate switches and buttons of the camera. “My brother, Marcello, and I.”

Brody was silent for a moment, looking at her. “You have a brother? I don’t remember you mentioning him before.”

“He was in middle school when our parents died, and I was in college.” The questions in her little brother’s eyes, the confusion, when she announced he had to leave still haunted her. He’d begged her to let him stay, so they could be together. It’s what Mom and Dad would have wanted. He’d been old enough to understand he had to leave his home—and yet too young to really comprehend why.

“And you’re close with him?” Brody asked when she’d been silent.

“As close as we can be.” She wound the camera strap around her neck. “He lives in South America now.”

“With your father’s family,” he guessed.

Elisa nodded. Normally she didn’t like to talk about her brother and the decision to send him away. For years she struggled with the possibility that maybe she’d made a mistake. Maybe she could have found a way to support her younger brother as a college student. But she’d been living in a dorm room several hours away from where he went to school. After she started modeling, the money started flowing in. The traveling had been the one hurdle she hadn’t been able to work around. Her agent had managed to book traveling jobs only during the summer, so she could stay in school. How could she have left a teenager to fend for himself while she traveled all over the world for photo shoots and runway shows?

“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?” Brody asked as though he sensed her inner turmoil.

“Five years. He lives with our grandparents in Rio de Janeiro.”

“And you miss him a lot.”

Elisa’s fingers continued to fiddle and poke at the camera, simply because it was all she could do not to grab onto Brody. The subject of Marcello was too personal, too raw. Brody had a way of coaxing things out of her, as if she didn’t have a choice but to share with him, to lean on him like she hadn’t done with anyone else.

He took a step closer to her. “That must have been a difficult decision for you to make.”

She lifted her eyes to his.

“You had to send him away after your parents died, didn’t you?”

She would not ruin this beautiful day by crying. She’d cried over the loss of her brother for years and had since told herself she’d become a stronger person than the lonely college kid she used to be.

“Even though we’re eight years apart, Marcello and I were closer than your average brother and sister. When he left it was like losing my best friend.” She’d never forget the feel of his arms wrapped so tightly around her neck, just minutes before he boarded the plane to South America. Then afterward, the emptiness in her heart as she walked out of the airport alone.